'AMERICA 2000' SETS 6 GOALS FOR IMPROVING EDUCATION NATIONWIDE

LAKE WORTH -- David Kearns, deputy secretary of education, visited here with a challenge to the Lake Worth and Glades communities: Become "America 2000" communities and lead the way for the rest of the nation.

"America 2000 is a stategy which is to ensure all six of the national educational needs," Kearns, during his Feb. 5 visit, said of the newly developed program.

America 2000 is a program aimed toward national educational goals. The program was designed to improve education in America by setting standards and achieving them.

The six goals established by the federal government are:

-- Every child will start school ready to learn.

-- The high school graduation rate will exceed 90 percent.

-- Students will be proficient in English, math, science, history and geography.

-- Students will become first in the world in math and science.

-- Every adult will be literate and able to compete in a global economy.

-- Schools will be free of drugs and violence.

Communities across America, such as Lake Worth and Belle Glade, will be participating in America 2000. In order to become America 2000 communities, they must already be at work on the educational goals.

Within the next five years, the federal government hopes to have installed this program in every community and high school in the nation.

In addition to the six goals, every community that wishes to be an America 2000 community must meet other criteria. The other elements are to develop a communitywide strategy of achieving the goals, to design a "report card" evaluating the program and keeping the community informed, and to get full support from the community.

An America 2000 community is a mixture of everyone in the community, including parents, business and civic leaders, doctors, church leaders, educators and students.

Palm Beach County has two communities already participating in America 2000: Lake Worth and Belle Glade.

Lake Worth High School has specialty programs called magnets: the Air Force Junior ROTC and a beginning medical program. Programs like this are what qualified Lake Worth High to be an America 2000 school. Glades Central High School is beginning a magnet program, which has qualified it as an America 2000 school.